Why You Should Ride Gravel On Your Road Bike | GCN's Guide To Taking Your Road Bike Off Road
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- čas přidán 17. 07. 2020
- Do you really need a gravel bike to ride gravel cycling adventures? Road bikes are really capable machines, just look at the pros racing Strade Bianche, and, with the right tyre choice, can be a lot of fun on more than just tarmac. In this video, Jeremy takes his Orbea road bike with 32mm slick tyres on the same gravel ride around Massachusetts he and Si took on last year to prove that road bikes are good for more than just road riding.
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Have you ever taken your road bike off road? Let us know how you got on in the comments below!
Have taken my aluminium road bike up a gravel rail trail. Bike survived just fine but it was desperately uncomfortable.
You’ve taken the Liam Thompson transition song...👏👏👏👍
Only when I had to swerve to avoid a snake...but magpie season is approaching, so I'll probably do it again soon. Welcome to Australia!
Yep, it’s fine in smooth well-maintained gravel roads with fine gravel like Forestry Commission roads. On tougher stuff with big chippings, ruts, potholes and hard-baked clay (especially if it has been chopped up by horses) then the gravel bike with 38mm tyres is definitely preferable.
Cape Cod Gravel!!!!!!!! Needs to be on GCN!
That gravel road is in better condition than most of good roads in the UK 😂😂😂
Haha I was going to say that the roads round my way have been 'repaired'. And it all looks like gravel.
Better than the sealed roads in Detroit (potholes that an entire bike can dissapear into)
Same with the asphalt in my town. It's always more comfortable riding the dirt trails because everyone driving over it leaves a nice flow.
Ha yeah same here in Ireland 😂
Yeah some of the Somerset roads have been resurfaced but already look as bad as this one
That gravel road looks smoother than most of our local tarmac cycle paths and probably a good few of our cycling-suitable roads too.
I love films with Jeremy. His love and passion for cycling are so infectious!
He's great, isn't he? We're so happy to have Jeremy on board!
That's the most beautifully manicured "gravel" road I have ever seen. Looks like pavement. Where are the hunks of rock, potholes, and washboard ruts?
I know exactly what you're talking about and am asking the same question. My parents live on a gravel road like you're describing and when I got my first road bike I used to have creep down the road for a solid km before I hit the Tarmac. That being said, now when I'm out on a group ride I am easily the most capable when it comes to "gravel roads" like what we're seeing here.
And even though it looks like there's been rain recently!
Not enough cars driving over it to ruin it i think.
This dude always puts a smile on my face. I wanna see him and Eddy Murphy drinking beer and laughing and grinning a lot.
My friends always says I’m crazy when I go off road with my road bike. But as an cycling enthusiast,I were meant to explore the world.
I sure agree with that, I was surprised too but most road bike are more capable than one would expect.
i think gravel roads mean something different here. where i'm from, gravel roads have about an inch of loose gravel rocks that you'd have to crunch through while sliding around. you'd have no real control or traction on gravel roads around here. those just look like dirt roads.
yeah, this road are better than many around my french countryside, i don't get the gravel side
Those I wouldn't even want to take my mountain bike on. Had to ride on that for a bit while they relayering the path , the Bulldozers hadn't come to crush the rocks yet
I tried my bike with 28c tires at 80psi on real loose gravel and it was harrowing. Stopped within 30s and turned around. The roads in this video are sublime compared to any road near me. Better even than the paved roads.
Yes, when I think a proper "gravel" road, it usually has quite a layer of gravel of varying size. The most recent one I took my road bike on (with x23mm wide tyres) had the front wheel sink in and greatly degrade handling.
I feel you, Lisa. Same here where I live, just add a ton of sand between rocks
You're great, dude! I've been playing on gravel with an old road bike - steel frame, 8s groupset - that I was using mostly for commuting, here in the south of Brazil where the MTB reigns. Sometimes the lack of disc brakes makes me really scared but it's also the reason I've been having so much fun. Thanks for those nice tips.
I am not afraid of taking my roadbike on gnarly gravel roads, especially since it's an aluminum frame. 5 bar/80 psi seemed to work fine with 26c tires, now I upgraded to 28c and it really helps with being more confident/reckless ;-)
Sounds awesome! Happy shredding!
I’ve ridden my steel road bike with rim brakes and tubeless 23c tires on VERY chunky and deep gravel. It was during a charity ride, and the county stripped the old pavement and poured the gravel across a two mile stretch the day before the event. A lot of the riders chose an alternate route that added milage, but my bad@ss wife and I decided that we could handle it for only two miles. It really wasn’t that difficult, but a lot of stones were bounced off the downtubes, so we opted for the alternate route on the way back. A gravel or ‘cross bike with 38-42c tires would have made that road a breeze for sure.
@@prestachuck2867
Yeah, I think there is a limit when the skinny tires start to sink into the gravel. It's still doable, but just not fun. I get very tense and my forearms start to hurt after a while...
I once took my gravel bike up a technical climb with some rock exposure. I got reminded right away why mountain bikes have at least a front suspension. I hit a rock and my front wheel just bounced up in the air. No amount of body weight shifting could compensate for that jolt. It's still fun to go up single tracks with a gravel bike. Just avoid roots and rocks. Let's leave those to MTBs.
Great film.. Answers a lot of questions for me. Thank you.. 😊
Well-maintained gravel is the key phrase here. I have taken both my Trek Domane and Colnago with 28mm tires and did fine. When it gets loose and/or rough though, a very different story (especially important are the downhill comments) and my then my Warbird is the go-to bike with 37mm or larger. Great video, thanks.
I bought a cyclocross bike to use as a daily commuter and weekend adventurer. Even with road tyres, gravel is so much fun.
Love this video! The geometry is what really makes the difference as a road bike has a much more aggressive position making handling more sensitive compared to a gravel or even mountain bike. So while it’s possible to get through some terrain, the geometry will probably require more finesse out of it. Well done JPow and GCN! ❤️
Man, Jeremy's enthusiasm and positivity is so infectious. Love it!
Great stuff here Jeremy thanks for sharing Man👍 love it.
Jeremy is a legend. Top video, top production, top information and top bloke.
Jeremy you are the best! I really like your enthusiasm about cycling and i am surprised that you can motivate me to do more rides with your positive aura nearly every time!
I love Jeremy's unlimited enthusiasm ! Inspiring
Tbh, I was in Britain twice and I dont get how you have fun road cycling...your roads are f***ed
Come to Germany ^-^
Come see the roads of New England.
@@fedos No kidding I ride in North Central Worcester County in Mass. and I prefer back roads to traffic. However I often feel I am better off on my hardtail than a road bike - thinking of getting carbon wheelset with slick tires for road or gravel or even flat bar road bike so hard to decide on a budget
I love cycling almost anywhere.. nice thick tyres solid reynolds 708 steel load up the expedition panniers and you can go wherever you want.
@@shapattu1949 Don't come to Louisiana... we just ride what we have.
Finally a video here on CZcams that really helped out deciding between Gravel and Endurance.... All the other videos didn't make a point like this one. I was looking to get a Gravel bike although I plan to ride > 80% on roads, the Endurance Road Bike is a better choice and also able to work on some light gravel (32mm Tires). And to ride really off-road, a mountain bike with half or full suspension is the way better choice (and much more comfortable) then riding trails with a gravel bike.
Good points! Thanks for sharing
i wana see more of jeremy, he's such a natural presenter and so easy to watch
Would love to see more content from Jeremy. I dig his enthusiasm
I enjoyed this video a lot. Really great presenter. I'd like to see more videos with him. I like this topic because here in Northern Idaho we have many beautiful paved roads that change to gravel for a few miles and then they are paved again. I recently made the switch from 23s to 28 Specialized All condition Armadillo tires. No flats so far.
My 2019 Giant Defy can fit 32c tires on it. I've done a few hundred miles of gravel riding on it with no problems, and it's a complete blast getting away from the traffic of normal road riding.
Apparently the 2020 Giant Defy can take 35 or maybe even 38mm tyres.
Western Mass! Can't wait to see more of my favorite roads featured on GCN!
Great video! Just trying to decide which bike to pack for this weekend. Komoot said my road bike may not be suitable for this terrain...but hey, after this, I’m packing the road bike :-) (and a couple extra spare tubes haha)
Great video, I doubt that I will be doing gravel riding any time soon but I'm sure I'll follow your lead with this video.
Jeremy is the man. Big fan of his here in Indianapolis!! Awesome enthusiasm for cycling
Western MA resident here and new Gravel bike owner. Thank you for the content.
Just brilliant. Informative and inspiring.
40+ years ago, when I was able-bodied, I tried riding my road bike on gravel with the skinny tires that came on it. It took less than 30 feet to convince me, I probably needed a Sting-Ray (1970's Mountain bike) for this endeavor. Jeremy has some really NICE roads to ride!! I like the forests!!
Did the D2R2 70mile version on my road bike with 28s and it was fine. I did use a "gravel" bike with straight bars and 2.1" Sammy Slicks when I did the full 112 mile version though- made the 45mph descents less nerve racking. Drop bars aren't great for fast descents. Fantastic gravel riding in western MA.
Great vídeo. Very informative for someone like me who’s starting to think gravel but not wanting to necessarily buy a gravel bike. You moved me closer to the doing part 😁😁😁
Found myself rattling down a speedy descent in the Kielder Forest (UK) on my roadbike. Didn't end well - double puncture and lost a tooth on the big chain ring. Where were you when I needed you, Jeremy?!?! Great advice (bit late). Great vid. Top man.
great video! anyone who is familiar with biking in the northeastern area of the U.S., there are also a lot of rail trails, too. those are usually a mixture of well maintained gravel and pavement; depends on the organization maintaining the trail, and who they got to give donations to do improvements.
I recently put some heavy duty treaded 28mm tires on my steel frame road bike and it rides like a dream on gravel and dirt paths. I can't even tell the difference on the road as far as speed goes. Best upgrade I ever made to my bike as I'm no longer limited to riding on pavement (I used to just get flats every second week and constantly spin out).
Which tires did you get?
Great information on gravel riding. I have a gravel bike and road bike, and I also live in Massachusetts, so I've ridden many of the roads in this video. While I'm not even close to the bike handler Jeremy is, I have to say, modern road bikes with 28s or 30s (tubeless of course) can take some serious punishment. However, I've found that it's more of a comfort and confidence thing for me. Like Jeremy said, it's important to feel confident in your setup and know when to back off. I'm much more comfortable, mentally and physically, taking my gravel bike out on proper New England gravel because if I run into a section with unexpectedly rough terrain, I'm good. I take the road bike out when I know I'm on pretty smooth stuff.
I rode a Snowdonian forest on 23c tyres a few years back, which was great fun but a miracle I didn't puncture. Done a few other rides on less extreme bridalways and trails too. Slicks are ok in the dry but slip and spin at first sign of mud. It helps to have an old bike you don't worry about bashing around.
One of my first few rides on my KTM Revelator brought my out to the Ocala National Forest area and I asked google maps for a quick route home. Didn’t know I would end up on gravel. It was fairly well maintained limestone road with a few softish sand spots. I stopped to air down the tires to improve the comfort and rode on to find paved road. That was actually my first experience on gravel. I’m glad I didn’t choose to turn around. I love gravel now! I love it even on my road bike, but prefer my 38mm tires on my CX bike.
I've taken my old 2005 Giant TCR on graveled horse trails in a local park. It was fine with 700x25 and 700x26 tires. Only issue were the logs laid down to prevent erosion on the hills. Plenty of fun. When I told other road cyclists about it they thought I was crazy. :-D
Did my first gravel century on an emonda ALR5 with panaracer 30mm slicks. Bike did great!
Yes, I have ride the Tour of Batten kill in upstate NY. A great mix of road and gravel.
Great video! I ride my OMX on a short stretch of gravel to/from my house on 28mm Schwalbe Pro One tubeless tires on every ride. No big deal. It’s hard packed enough that I don’t slide and it doesn’t kick up any rocks. But for a longer gravel ride, no way! I paid for MY bike and hate that it gets dirty from regular road rides.
For light gravel, I have an aluminum winter bike with adventure gearing and endurance geometry. I used to run Donnelly MXP 33mm clinchers, but they barely fit, rubbed paint, and were too big for my fenders. I just got some WTB 32mm Expanse rubber, and I can fit my fenders again. The MXPs were knobby, which could handle rougher gravel. The WTB is smooth on top and lightly treaded on the sides, which is more inline with road commuter tires and light gravel.
And BTW, the 32mm Expanse rubber on DT Swiss E1800 rims fits my Orbea OMX with about 4mm to spare. So if I wanted to run it on light gravel... I’d still choose my winter bike. Like I wrote, I paid for mine.
That maintained gravel is smoother than the tarmac here in UK!
I ride my track bike (25mm tires) on gravel all the time. Michigan is full of old railways that were converted into trails, most of which are a fairly plush crushed limestone. It's very doable, you just can't do a lot of leaning and pushing the bike around. Gotta stay as upright as possible and steer with the handlebars a bit more.
Rail trails are a bit different. Can’t really compare it to gravel roads. Tends to be finer stones and in better shape than a road that sees trucks and tractors all the time.
Rode my Synapse in Pawtukaway, on a rooty, gravelly path, I did puncture, but I had a blast and learn an important thing: On that type of terrain, you have balance your weight a lot more!
Just smash that single track every single time ! The old aussie saying “ she will be right mate “ lol
I live close to a good trailway (old railway reclaimed for biking, hiking, running, etc) and it is smoother than a lot of paved roads around me. Consequently, I ride my road bike on it often.
My biggest concern is not rocks or holes but loose gravel and slick mud. My mountain bike handles those much better. I find that on the road bike my main worry is just caution with speed and turning so I don't have unexpected wipeouts.
Looks awesome, thanks
So cool to see an American presenter on GSN. A pleasure to be able to understand. Oh, great segment too. Kudos.
You know they make GravelKing SS(flat center tread w/ gravel side-knobs) in a 28mm and I think even comes in the plus protection option too.
Have the 2020 Roubaix with 28’s and have been on and off road. Perfect bike for road that doesn’t make you sweat when the pavement goes away and lets you enjoy exploring new routes without having to worry about what’s coming up. My only regret was that I didn’t but 32c tires for it, next set for sure and they do not affect speed at all.
I tried my new Trek Domane SL5 on gravel last week as it was billed as an all road bike with its 32c tyres. It was amazing on all sorts of gravel trails. I made a vlog about it and I was suitably impressed with how it handled the terrain. The Quantocks trails were not as smooth and compact as yours in the video though.
His laugh was the best part.
Been riding the Pirelli Cinturato Velo TLR for 2 weeks now on a tubed setup and my confidence on what roads i can ride hase risen dramatically. When i saw the tyres on Jeremy's bike i felt like i made the right choice :)
Love this guy. legend!
HaHa, hate this guy, super annoying.
I ride a fixed gear on a gravel road pretty much everyday , it`s part of my ride . My biggest fear is running over a squirrel , they like to dart across the road at the last second lol.
I ran over a squirrel last week on my felt vr60 on a paved trail going 22mph and it didn’t upset the bike at all.
@@Shonky4477 that`s good news , no one wants an upset bike .
@@Shonky4477 Fantastic news
My 2019 Trek Domane will run a 38C tire with NO issue. It is my secondary bike and I just change rims with the bigger tires. Works great.
Same, run 28mm on carbon wheels for road and 40 mm on aluminum wheel for gravel. Trek Domane SL6 is awesome
38c, that’s basically gravel territory a few years ago, and plus with isospeed, that’ll be a good gravel race bike
My touring bike is better than your fad bike and will 50mm and take more of a beating without any maintenance.
Own carbon roadie, full suspension mtb alloy, and now an alloy cantilever brake cx bike. The cx bike has 35c Conti SpeedKing RaceSport tyres, it's much fun and versatile, built it myself, it's a lovely bike and my first choice to ride atm
The far nicer than average gravel roads seen here aside, I do agree. I feel a lot of people really under estimate their road bike frames, and obviously you shouldn't be taking them on single track etc, but they can definitely handle a bit of the stuff Jeremy is talking about.
It's just great fun to go for a ride with Jeremy.... ha ha, nice :)
Hi GCN !
I occasionally ride my road bike on short gravel rides. As my bike is fitted all year long with 28mm winter tyres AND slime inner tubes : I never have had a puncture for 3 years now. I have approx 5 to 6 bars pressure in my tyres. 🤟🏻
Great to see some JPow content. I have absolutely broken spokes trying to monster some light trail with the road bike and too little tire. Gravel bike all the way if you can't resist the call of a side trail.
I've ridden my aero road bike on MTB single tracks and very rough mud roads (dry) here in the UK. Its great fun! The bike is so much more responsive than an mtb and its great for bike handling skills. Also across heathland. (all on 25mm tubeless road tyres). Its not as tricky as he makes it sound but don't expect much when braking! As for this guys 'gravel road', looks like a standard uk road to me!
I rode the entire length of the caledon rail trail in Ontario, Canada, with nothing but my 25 mm road slicks on and survived! I had a blast doing it 🥰
I used to ride all the Cascade fire roads on 25mm tires no problems... ridden plenty of local mtb singletrack on 28mm on an aero road bike too. Definitely think it’s on your handling a bit.
I see an epic ride video with Jeremy, I watch. I hit the like button.
Thanks for the support, Fariq!
just got back from a ride down old trails and they have become bloody streams of wet chalk. tires went cream colour and was filthy afterwards but its a synapse and it got me through
I recently got my first road bike and went exploring, took a little path that soon turned into mud and rocks and fallen branches. The bike did ok! But my hands were cramping and aching by the bottom of it gripping those brake levers from the hoods! Road bike brakes really only slow you down gently it seems
As the video says, it really depends on what you want to ride in the spectrum of "gravel". My "gravel" bike is basically a 90s rigid hardtail with drop bars: a steel framed tank with 29er wheels, a dropper post and 50MM tires. The farm roads around here can get pretty rough, especially when they're re-graded and haven't yet been pounded in by the tractors. The tank is great for that stuff. On the other hand, the groomed crushed limestone paths in my areas are perfectly ridable on my road bike.
Back in ‘90 when still road racing, I moved to Vermont. I road whatever I could find that was interesting and new, and there are a lot of gravel roads in Vermont. Many are paved, only to suddenly turn to gravel. I wasn’t going to turn around, so I just kept going and enjoyed them all (most of them). I was hoping to also meet up with some MTB riders to try some real off-road stuff on my mountain bike. I finally met some after a couple of weeks. On our first MTB ride they we spent the whole time riding the same dirt roads I had already done on my road bike. And now everybody thinks they need a gravel bike. The manufacturers must be laughing.
definitely body position is important. if you're used to keeping your butt on the seat the whole time, it's not going to work out well when you get to a bump or bigger rock. you can see it in the video where jeremy brings his cyclocross skills and gets his butt off the seat a lot even though he didn't actually talk about it
So this begs the question, should you just buy a gravel bike and when you want to ride the roads, swap the rims & rubber out for something more suited for the road?
If you can cope with the gearing compromises why not?
YT Channel Rides of Japan use his method
Uhm an endurance road bike can accomodate wider tires
I got myself a Cube CrossRace 2016, did mostly gravel on it for a very long time and one day decided to buy some road tyres (28c, Vittoria Zaffiro Pro). Since then I've cycled from Bristol to Paris (+cycling around Paris and other places once there) approx. 600 miles, Wales in a Day Sportive (200 miles), and many other sportives. I've also changed the tyres to 32C Gatorskins. Never had a problem with keeping up with people on road bikes (of comparable fitness level to myself), I regularly go cycling with friends who have road bikes and the only time the bikes lets me down is during sprints and downhill when going about 60 kmh + as the gearing is noticeably lower. Other than and the weight, I absolutely love it, the somewhat more relaxed geometry helps to stay comfortable during longer days too.
I can recommend a relatively cheap Trek Crockett to do most things very well. Tyre clearance is limited to ~ 38 mm, enough for me.
I bought a gravel bike 2 years ago. The first year I tried to use it instead of my xc, as there are not technically challenging courses in my area. It turns out, it was done pretty quickly and I needed to replace part after part. My next idea, after basically rebuilding it only using the frame, post, and deck, was to use it for commuting. Well, I quickly realized, that I don't need gravel tires for my commuting (although traveling through gravel). Now I basically build a road bike from it, using a bit more robust tires (4 Season Black Edition in 700x25C). It basically works great on gravel, even on light trails if it is not muddy and wet. While I loved the idea of a gravel bike, I would buy either a cx, xc or roadbike after testing it. For me it was either missing a real mtb or speed.
We have a well maintained gravel path along a canal that's 70 miles long. Perfect for a road bike with some gravel tires...with the added perk that it's pretty close to flat, too. The only downside is that it's a multi-use trail and can get crowded, especially on the weekends. I did my first half century on my road bike on that trail, though, and it was great.
Took the "other" road down to the valley road from Luz Ardiden in the Pyrenees last year. I new there was a tougher road to avoid for the going up but didn't realise quite how poor the road surface was. The hire shop Scott I was riding would have been happily exchanged for a gravel bike had I known. That said, there was zero traffic, I took my time (mostly!) and enjoyed the mountain woodland scenery. Was happy for the smooth tarmac at the bottom though!
I ride my Road Bike on Gravel at least once a week! Running 28mm tires and lowering the pressure a bit. I ride an 2020 Orbea Avant.
Calgary has amazing amount of bike paths paved with asphalt. I can’t say same about maintenance of said asphalt.
So many roots, deep lines, cuts and breakages that it’s not pleasure hitting them at any speed with my road bike inflated to 110 psi.
I even broke the spoke on a wheel trying to ride over bridge in FishCreek Provincial Park.
Concrete surface of bridge is raised good one inch higher and at 20 km/h that’s enough.
Lesson learned, either I slow down to a crawl or make sure I jump with both of heel simultaneously.
Conclusion. Gravel is cheaper to maintain.
Good idea went straight out on my road bike 28m tyres rim brakes road gravel and even some off road no issues 👍
Ah Jermey great to have you back...... congratulations 🥳 on the new arrival......👶🏼and a new 🤔😀
Another great video from JP . There's a ride we do in the uk called the white roads classic. A homage to the strade, some off it does have slightly large rocks but we've done it a couple of times on road bikes and it is a blast. It would be way too easy on my cross bike. I think it's 60 miles ish
Man that ride was so cool definitely want to try it on my Giant Fastroad flat bar. 😃
In the 90s I rode EVERYTHING on 23s pumped to 115 PSI. In my experience, the way to avoid pich flats has always been to keep the tires super hard. Of course, that has other drawbacks. Also, nearly every gravel road I've ever ridden has been a wash board. How come that seems to not happen in the US?
I'm 53 I've rode schwinns on trails and my eddy merckx...91' allez epic on single track in city park trails ...Seattle Wa. ...I rode my mtbs with elbows down 3fingers tucked...I truly am tickled to watch these vids and and hear of points I make for my riding style ...and I'm not the only one who can't help but be trail road curious...I'm not fit now but the mentality is still there and I do ride the same nearly half the time I ride ...scamper unpredictable or just smooth depends on mood...not destinations
Nice video, thanks. What size tyres did you use?
I've done several gravel stretches on an 2012 bike that ran 25mm tires. My new bike can run 32s. I'm currently running 28s tubeless and it's a nice improvement on gravel. Not going to do the really loose stuff or the really technical stuff. Still there are a lot of rides you can swing on a road bike.
I also love the gearing on my new bike. It's got the normal front chainrings (52-39 I think) but it was built out with a 34 on the back (11-34 I think). So I've got the same bigger gears I had on my old bike but going from an 11-28 to having a 34 has been amazing. It has bottle mounts for three bottles as well. So it really checks all the boxes Jeremy mentioned. Lastly, the frame weighs in at 800g but it actually passes xc MTN bike impact tests so it's light but solid. Just passed 1200 miles on it and I'm so happy with it. It's a smaller brand based out of Utah, and their best road model, the Fezzari Empire.
I love Jeremy he's so hype!
Lots of gravel roads down here in Devon, most bizarre gravel ride was on an Orbea Ora TT bike. After the track I was on disappeared and all that left was an mtb track four miles of muddy track later I got back to tarmac great fun but real scary on 700X23 tyres
So great to see Jeremy again!
Fun segment! Lots of the great roads north of Toronto are connected with bits a pieces of gravel, and we routinely used them on our road bikes. But we also ride a ton of gravel up here, and I ended with a Focus Paralane Factory.. so gravel light? I swapped on some 35 Schwalbe G1s and a 10-42 cassette and I've ridden everything from well maintained Strada Bianchi in Italy, to fairly aggressive MTB single track, to an 8 hour gravel endurance race. So, based on the Paralane's geometry, it is certainly more road, than gravel, but it's been a fantastic companion so far. Only wish I had room for slightly wider tires. Cheers!
Please share your route. Looks great and I am in the neighborhood.
You said no knobby tires. I have vittoria terreno dry 31c tires on my 2020 Roubaix. Would I only stick with my smooth tire?
Nice test J Pow
I own a 2018 Pinarello carbon road bike and a 2019 Cube Cross Race Pro aluminium. Both great bike in there own rights. On tarmac the pure racer is faster and more alive, but the difference is manageable (with similair tires) if you wish to use one bike.
Awesome! Looks very similar to my home here in WV!
Sounds great!
I have an old Panasonic road bike with 23c tires and ended up with it on some large loose gravel and loose sand along with a bumpy dirt road with rocks. This was in a small nature preserve. Not sure if had more fun or more worry about getting a puncture
When I was a kid all we had was road bikes "huffys" (BMX wasn't a thing yet ), or beach cruisers. Mtb's were yet to come , so we trusted our 27X7/8 inch tires to take us wherever we wanted to go.
As a lighter rider with 30mm/1.2" tubeless tyres I never had a flat, but I noticed the limits of my bike on rougher gravel.
What I'm more concerned about is traction while cornering on gravel. Did he mention that?
Since I ride disc brakes on my Ridley Fenix could I run 650b wheels?
Maybe this is some inspiration for a part two, cheers :)